Cement terminal plan axed

Cement terminal plan axed
27 November 2006


Plans to build a controversial cement terminal on Sydney Harbour have been scrapped. 
 
Planning Minister Frank Sartor will today announce the $31m proposal by Independent Cement and Lime has been withdrawn after he met with ICL and expressed his "serious concerns" about the White Bay, Rozelle, project. 
 
It followed a community backlash to the proposal which would have resulted in the terminal operating 24 hours a day -- and processing 500,000tpa of cement. 
 
More than 1500 submissions were lodged to the plans, with the majority from people opposed to the terminal. 
 
"I heard first-hand from the community and received a petition from the candidate for Balmain, Verity Firth, expressing community concerns," Mr Sartor said.
 
"I then met with representatives from ICL last week and told them I had serious concerns. 
 
"The project would have involved building a 55m-high conical silo -- equivalent to a tower of more than 18 storeys. 
 
"It would have been a dominant element in the landscape and the visual impact on surrounding areas ... would have been significant." 
 
He added the company’s decision to withdraw "meant there is no longer grounds for future court action, which could have arisen had the application been refused". 

Published under Cement News